Joanne Moncrieff of University College London ‘refutes link between low serotonin and depression –

Top psychiatrists rounded up the authors of an explosive study that questioned the effectiveness of antidepressants and called the results “ridiculous” and “highly exaggerated.”

Last week, researchers at University College London said they disproved a 1960s theory that depression is caused by low levels of serotonin, a brain chemical believed to regulate mood.

The study, led by Professor Joanna Moncrieff, a respected psychiatrist, analyzed decades of research involving tens of thousands of patients with the condition and found no “convincing evidence” of a link between mental illness and serotonin levels.

The findings were considered significant, as many of the antidepressants used by more than eight million Britons were designed to increase serotonin levels.

“Thousands of people suffer from the side effects of antidepressants, including severe withdrawal symptoms that can occur when trying to quit, but prescriptions continue to increase,” he said. moncrieff. “We think this is due to the mistaken belief that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance. “It’s time to make it clear to the public that this belief is not rooted in science.”

But leading brain experts, Prof. He criticized Moncrieff. They argue that it is not true to say that scientists think depression is caused by low serotonin levels. Instead, they say, the prevailing theory is that depression is caused by many factors, and that antidepressants have been clinically proven to help.

Dr. Consultant psychiatrist and University College London Prof. Moncrieff’s colleague, Michael Bloomfield, said his conclusion was “wrong”.

“Depression has many different symptoms, and I don’t think I’ve met serious scientists or psychiatrists who think that all causes of depression are due to a simple imbalance of the chemical serotonin.”

Added: ‘[This paper] brought depression together as if it were a single condition that made no biological sense”.

“The idea that depression is the result of a chemical imbalance is outdated, and the Royal College of Psychiatrists wrote in a 2019 paper that it’s an oversimplification,” said David Curtis, professor emeritus at the UCL Institute of Genetics. Phil Cowen, professor of psychopharmacology at Oxford University, said Prof. He seemed to accuse Moncrieff of choosing data that fit his hypothesis.

Doctors first discovered a link between low serotonin levels and depression in the 1960s, later providing family doctors with a weapon to deal with the condition.

He cautioned that the review omitted an important study that suggested that depressed patients have lower levels of compounds that are integral to serotonin production in the blood.

“The possible role of serotonin in depression is a different matter from its antidepressant effects in depression” [antidepressants]’ said.

Other experts point to numerous studies showing that taking antidepressants can alleviate depression, regardless of their effect on serotonin levels.

“Through years of research, we know that antidepressants work and save lives,” said Professor David Nutt, head of the Center for Neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London.

‘The conclusions of this article are absurd. The authors greatly exaggerated the importance of serotonin levels. No one ever said that the only cause of depression was an imbalance of serotonin.

prof. He adds that more recent studies using more accurate testing methods, not included in Moncrieff’s review, have found “decreased serotonin-releasing capacity” in people with depression. “It’s premature at this point to reject the serotonin depression hypothesis,” he said.

Psychiatrists say the exact reason why antidepressants work is not understood, but this is not uncommon. prof. “It’s hard to be absolutely sure what makes a drug work in the brain,” Nutt says. “It can have an effect on things other than antidepressants and serotonin receptors.”

Basically, they argue that while depression isn’t caused by a serotonin imbalance, that doesn’t mean it can’t be effectively treated by increasing levels of the chemical in the brain.

Responding to the criticism, Prof. Moncrieff said the purpose of the study was not to argue that antidepressants do not work, but to ask whether pills should be prescribed.

“People are told that the reason they feel depressed is that there is a problem with their brain chemistry and that antidepressants can fix it. But if there is no evidence of a brain chemistry problem, it doesn’t seem like a logical solution. This profession has misled people about the need for antidepressants for too long and now doctors have to admit they were wrong. He doesn’t want to.”